A plasmon modulator by directly controlling the couple of photon and electron.

The manipulation of surface plasmon polaritons plays a pivotal role in plasmonic science and technology, however, the modulation efficiency of the traditional method suffers from the weak light-matter interaction. Herein, we propose a new method to overcome this obstacle by directly controlling the couple of photon and electron. In this paper, a hybrid graphene-dielectric- interdigital electrode structure is numerically and experimentally investigated. The plasmon is excited due to the confined carrier which is regulated by the potential wells. The frequency of plasmon can be tuned over a range of ~ 33 cm-1, and the obtained maximum extinction ratio is 8% via changing the confined area and the density of carrier. These findings may open up a new path to design the high efficiency all-optical modulator because the electrons can also be driven optically.

Nano-particle transport and the prediction of a valid area to be trapped based on a plasmonic antenna array.

Optical antennas are promising for optical trapping and particle manipulation, when converting light between localized energy and freely propagating radiation. In this paper, we proposed a numerical method for the transport of nanoparticles using the optical force field over a plasmonic Au antenna array. The plasmonic Au antenna array is designed to produce strong near-field hot spots when illuminated by a plane wave. The hot spots function as optical traps, separately addressable by their resonant wavelengths. By changing the traps sequentially, the nanoparticles can be handed off between adjacent traps. We also demonstrated a valid area in which the nanoparticles could be trapped and transferred stably by discussing the trapping potential that particles encountered. The simulated and calculated results showed that this method had promising applications in the field of biochemical diagnoses and high-accuracy optical manipulation.

A high-precision, template-assisted, anisotropic wet etching method for fabricating perovskite microstructure arrays.

Cesium lead-halide (CsPbX3; X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite microstructure arrays have become the basis for laser array applications, due to their outstanding spectral coherence, low threshold, and wideband tunability. Furthermore, the common fabrication methods for these arrays have the limitation to achieve both tailored design and high resolution simultaneously. Herein, we report a high-precision, template-assisted, wet etching (TAWE) method for the preparation of perovskite microstructure arrays. This method possesses the advantages of flexible design, controllable size, and ultrahigh accuracy (the resolution can reach 1 µm or higher). A 20 × 20 inverted pyramid array with a diameter of 3 µm and a period of 4 µm was fabricated using this method. CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots fabricated by means of hot injection were filled into the inverted pyramid array via spin-coating and pumped using a laser with a wavelength of 400 nm. The lasing characteristics of the array were then measured and analyzed; the threshold was measured to be 37.6 µJ cm-2, and the full width at half maximum of the amplified spontaneous emission spectrum was found to be about 4.7 nm. These results demonstrate that perovskite microstructure arrays prepared via this method have potential applications in laser arrays.

A simple multiple centrifugation method for large-area homogeneous perovskite CsPbBr3 films with optical lasing.

Large scale cesium lead-halide (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, and I) perovskite films have become the basis of laser applications. Common fabrication methods such as spin-coating and thermal evaporation have a trade-off between high quality and low cost. Herein, we reported a facile method for preparing a large area homogeneous perovskite CsPbBr3 film via a multiple centrifugal deposition and solvent annealing (MCDSA) method. This method is superior because it can control the thickness (180 nm to 880 nm) of the film, ensure the film is crack and pinhole free, has a large area (2.5 cm × 2.5 cm), and has a low surface roughness (a root mean square of 32 nm). Multiple times of centrifugation and solvent annealing in the MCDSA method are key to improving the quality of the film as well as the laser performance. With increased centrifugation cycles from one to four, the thickness of the film increases from 180 nm to 880 nm, leading to a decrease in the laser threshold from 18.1 µJ cm-2 to 14.2 µJ cm-2 and an increase in the gain coefficient from 78.5 cm-1 to 112.7 cm-1. When solvent annealing is employed, the gain coefficient is further increased to 122.7 cm-1.

Near-infrared BODIPY-based two-photon ClO- probe based on thiosemicarbazide desulfurization reaction: naked-eye detection and mitochondrial imaging.

Hypochlorite serves as a significant antimicrobial agent in the human immune system, and its detection is of great importance. Herein, a novel near-infrared BODIPY-based ClO- fluorescent probe (NCS-BOD-OCH3) was designed and synthesized. The emission bands of NCS-BOD-OCH3 concentrated at 595 nm and 665 nm. Since the electron withdrawing group 1,3,4-oxadiazole was formed after the desulfurization reaction, the fluorescence intensity of NCS-BOD-OCH3 decreased significantly in THF/H2O (v/v, 1 : 1, buffered with 10 mM PBS pH = 7.4), which is visible to the naked eye with an obvious color change. NCS-BOD-OCH3 can realize the two-photon up-converted fluorescence emission. The low detection limit was calculated from the titration results, with the figure for NCS-BOD-OCH3/ClO- being 1.15 × 10-6 M. The result of living cell imaging experiment demonstrated that NCS-BOD-OCH3 can successfully detect ClO- in living cells and can serve as a NIR mitochondrial imaging agent. It is an excellent platform for developing NIR ClO- fluorescent probes.

Fructose-bisphophate aldolase exhibits functional roles between carbon metabolism and the hrp system in rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola.

Fructose-bisphophate aldolase (FbaB), is an enzyme in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in living organisms. The mutagenesis in a unique fbaB gene of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, the causal agent of rice bacterial leaf streak, led the pathogen not only unable to use pyruvate and malate for growth and delayed its growth when fructose was used as the sole carbon source, but also reduced extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production and impaired bacterial virulence and growth in rice. Intriguingly, the fbaB promoter contains an imperfect PIP-box (plant-inducible promoter) (TTCGT-N(9)-TTCGT). The expression of fbaB was negatively regulated by a key hrp regulatory HrpG and HrpX cascade. Base substitution in the PIP-box altered the regulation of fbaB with the cascade. Furthermore, the expression of fbaB in X. oryzae pv. oryzicola RS105 strain was inducible in planta rather than in a nutrient-rich medium. Except other hrp-hrc-hpa genes, the expression of hrpG and hrpX was repressed and the transcripts of hrcC, hrpE and hpa3 were enhanced when fbaB was deleted. The mutation in hrcC, hrpE or hpa3 reduced the ability of the pathogen to acquire pyruvate and malate. In addition, bacterial virulence and growth in planta and EPS production in RΔfbaB mutant were completely restored to the wild-type level by the presence of fbaB in trans. This is the first report to demonstrate that carbohydrates, assimilated by X. oryzae pv. oryzicola, play critical roles in coordinating hrp gene expression through a yet unknown regulator.

Identification of seven Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola genes potentially involved in pathogenesis in rice.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) causes bacterial leaf streak (BLS) in rice, an emerging and destructive disease worldwide. Identification of key virulence factors is a prerequisite for understanding the pathogenesis of Xoc. In this study, a Tn5-tagged mutant library of Xoc strain RS105 was screened on rice, and 27 Tn5 mutants were identified that were either non-pathogenic or showed reduced virulence in rice. Fourteen of the non-pathogenic mutants were also unable to elicit the hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco and were designated Pth(-)/HR(-) mutants; 13 mutants showed attenuated virulence and were able to induce an HR (Vir(-)/HR(+)). Sequence analysis of the Tn5-tagged genes indicated that the 14 Pth(-)/HR(-) mutants included mutations in hrcC, hrcT, hrcV, hpaP, hrcQ, hrpF, hrpG and hrpX. The 13 Vir(-)/HR(+) mutants included tal-C10c-like (a transcriptional activator-like TAL effector), rpfC (regulator of pathogenicity factors), oxyR (oxidative stress transcriptional regulator), dsbC (disulfide isomerase), opgH (glucan biosynthesis glucosyltransferase H), rfbA (glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase), amtR (aminotransferase), purF (amidophosphoribosyltransferase), thrC (threonine synthase), trpA (tryptophan synthase alpha subunit) and three genes encoding hypothetical proteins (Xoryp_02235, Xoryp_00885 and Xoryp_22910). Collectively, the 27 Tn5 insertions are located in 21 different open reading frames. Bacterial growth and in planta virulence assays demonstrated that opgH, purF, thrC, trpA, Xoryp_02235, Xoryp_00885 and Xoryp_22910 are candidate virulence genes involved in Xoc pathogenesis. Reduced virulence in 13 mutants was restored to wild-type levels when the cognate gene was introduced in trans. Expression profiles demonstrated that the seven candidate virulence genes were significantly induced in planta, although their roles in Xoc pathogenesis remain unclear.

A novel regulatory role of HrpD6 in regulating hrp-hrc-hpa genes in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, the causal agent of bacterial leaf streak in the model plant rice, possesses a hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (hrp), hrp-conserved (hrc), hrp-associated (hpa) cluster (hrp-hrc-hpa) that encodes a type III secretion system (T3SS) through which T3SS effectors are injected into host cells to cause disease or trigger plant defenses. Mutations in this cluster usually abolish the bacterial ability to cause hypersensitive response in nonhost tobacco and pathogenicity in host rice. In Xanthomonas spp., these genes are generally assumed to be regulated by the key master regulators HrpG and HrpX. However, we present evidence that, apart from HrpG and HrpX, HrpD6 is also involved in regulating the expression of hrp genes. Interestingly, the expression of hpa2, hpa1, hpaB, hrcC, and hrcT is positively controlled by HrpD6. Transcriptional expression assays demonstrated that the expression of the hrcC, hrpD5, hrpE, and hpa3 genes was not completely abolished by hrpG and hrpX mutations. As observed in analysis of their corresponding mutants, HrpG and HrpX exhibit contrasting gene regulation, particularly for hpa2 and hrcT. Other two-component system regulators (Zur, LrpX, ColR/S, and Trh) did not completely inhibit the expression of hrcC, hrpD5, hrpE, and hpa3. Immunoblotting assays showed that the secretion of HrpF, which is an HpaB-independent translocator, is not affected by the mutation in hrpD6. However, the mutation in hrpD6 affects the secretion of an HpaB-dependent TAL effector, AvrXa27. These novel findings suggest that, apart from HrpG and HrpX, HrpD6 plays important roles not only in the regulation of hrp genes but also in the secretion of TAL effectors.

Hpa2 required by HrpF to translocate Xanthomonas oryzae transcriptional activator-like effectors into rice for pathogenicity.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, the causative agent of bacterial leaf streak, injects a plethora of effectors through the type III secretion system (T3SS) into rice cells to cause disease. The T3SS, encoded by the hrp genes, is essential for the pathogen to elicit the hypersensitive response (HR) in nonhost tobacco and for pathogenicity in host rice. Whether or not a putative lytic transglycosylase, Hpa2, interacts with a translocon protein, HrpF, to facilitate bacterial pathogenicity remains unknown. Here we demonstrated that both the hpa2 and hrpF genes are required for the pathogenicity of X. oryzae pv. oryzicola strain RS105 in rice but not for HR induction in tobacco. The expression of hpa2 was positively regulated by HrpG and HrpD6 but not by HrpX. In vivo secretion and subcellular localization analyses confirmed that Hpa2 secretion is dependent on HpaB (a T3SS exit protein) and that Hpa2 binds to the host cell membrane. Protein-protein assays demonstrated that Hpa2 interacts with HrpF. In planta translocation of AvrXa10 indicated that the mutation in hpa2 and hrpF inhibits the injection of the HpaB-dependent transcriptional activator-like (TAL) effector into rice. These findings suggest that Hpa2 and HrpF form a complex to translocate T3S effectors into plant cells for pathogenesis in host rice.

Salts-based size-selective precipitation: toward mass precipitation of aqueous nanoparticles.

Purification is a necessary step before the application of nanocrystals (NCs), since the excess matter in nanoparticles solution usually causes a disadvantage to their subsequent coupling or assembling with other materials. In this work, a novel salts-based precipitation technique is originally developed for the precipitation and size-selective precipitation of aqueous NCs. Simply by addition of salts, NCs can be precipitated from the solution. After decantation of the supernatant solution, the precipitates can be dispersed in water again. By means of adjusting the addition amount of salt, size-selective precipitation of aqueous NCs can be achieved. Namely, the NCs with large size are precipitated preferentially, leaving small NCs in solution. Compared with the traditional nonsolvents-based precipitation technique, the current one is simpler and more rapid due to the avoidance of condensation and heating manipulations used in the traditional precipitation process. Moreover, the salts-based precipitation technique was generally available for the precipitation of aqueous nanoparticles, no matter if there were semiconductor NCs or metal nanoparticles. Simultaneously, the cost of the current method is also much lower than that of the traditional nonsolvents-based precipitation technique, making it applicable for mass purification of aqueous NCs.

Novel low-melting salts with donor-acceptor substituents as targets for second-order nonlinear optical applications.

We synthesized several novel low-melting ionic salts with donor-acceptor substituents and investigated their possible applications as second-order nonlinear optical materials.

(2E,5E)-2,5-Bis(3,4,5-trimethoxy-benzyl-idene)cyclo-penta-none.

The title compound, C(25)H(28)O(7), was prepared by the base-catalysed reaction of 3,4,5-trimethoxy-benzaldehyde with cyclo-penta-none. The mol-ecule has crystallographic twofold rotation symmetry and adopts an E-configuration about the central olefinic bonds. The two benzene rings and the central cyclo-penta-none ring are almost coplanar [dihedral angle = 4.7 (2)°].

2-Phenyl-4-(3,4,5-trimethoxy-benzyl-idene)-1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-one.

The title compound, C(19)H(17)NO(5), was synthesized as part of a continuing project involving the structures of oxazolone derivatives. The mol-ecule adopts a Z configuration about the central olefinic bond. The 2-phenyl ring is slightly twisted out of the plane of the oxazolone ring system by 11.2 (2)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

4-{[(1,3-Benzothia-zolium-2-yl)hydra-zono](phen-yl)meth-yl}-3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-olate monohydrate.

The title compound, C(24)H(19)N(5)OS·H(2)O, was synthesized by the reaction of 4-benzoyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-pyrazol-5-one and 2-hydrazino-1,3-benzothia-zole. Proton transfer leads to the formation of a zwitterionic structure and the mol-ecule exists in the enolate form. The pyrazolone ring makes dihedral angles of 35.4 (3), 69.7 (3) and 40.1 (3)° with the 1-phenyl, indirectly bound phenyl and benzothia-zole ring systems, respectively. The mol-ecules are linked into one-dimensional chains by a combination of N-H⋯O, O-H⋯N and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.